Montreal police (SPVM) have confirmed that a baby was removed from a homeless encampment last Friday. The infant was found in an encampment near Notre-Dame Street in the city’s Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough. SPVM spokesperson Johany Charland said the baby is believed to be about 1 year old and was in a tent with another woman. Charland said she did not know the baby’s gender or health status at the time of the incident. Police did not say why the baby was removed but noted that the child’s situation was complicated. “We did establish the relationship between the baby and the mother,” Charland said. The baby was taken into the care of Quebec youth protection officials. Police and youth protection officials are now conducting a joint investigation. Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada called the incident “deeply distressing and unacceptable” in a statement to CTV News. “If Quebec cannot resolve this issue, we will take charge of the derelict site. We can no longer wait for the government to act when children are living in a shanty town,” the statement reads. “I would like to thank the people of Montréal who stepped in to help this child, as well as our emergency services and the police who took over from there.”
